A story well-told and well-performed

Dan Howarth's novel concerns four friends who travel to the countryside for a stag party only to find themselves hunted by the locals.

What I think separates Howarth's story from other with similar plots--man hunting man--is his characters. First, in the opening scene Howary deftly draws multiple characters quickly. While I didn't necessarily like all of the characters, I did like following them through their story. Howarth quickly drew me in, made me feel like I'd enjoy hanging out with them at the pub. Second, once the hunt starts, it quickly becomes apparent that the first, most important battle they will fight is the one against themselves. Their lifelong quibbles and grudges become major impediments to their cooperation in dealing with the dangerous situation they've found themselves in. The novel focuses as much on the characters trying to reconcile their long-held hard feelings toward each other as it does their pursuit by the locals. The tension is ratcheted up because, in order to survive the immediate physical danger, they are forced to contend with their genuine attitudes toward each other. Counter-intuitively, the latter grow to feel an equal, if not greater, obstacle to their survival. Because of this setup, the ending feels much stronger than similar stories, as well.

This is a novel about men being hunted but also a race to see if they can grow wise before old. Or dead.

The performer, Aubrey Parsons, feels perfect for this novel. He sounds like he has lived among and knows these characters, their dialects, their personalities. I generally prefer reading to listening to novels. When I do go with an audiobook, I always appreciate when the performer adds something to the story I would not have gotten out of reading it myself. Parson delivers.

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